Whether you regard the final two games of World Cup qualifying the already Brazil-bound U.S. will play Friday in Kansas City and next Tuesday in Panama as an ending or a beginning, a journey that began under Jurgen Klinsmann in the summer of 2011 will have reached the desired destination.

The U.S. has qualified for the World Cup with two games to spare with a still coalescing unit that blends up-and-coming youngsters with wily campaigners amid hints of greater glories on a bigger stage.

“We don’t view these games as the end of World Cup qualifying,” Klinsmann said. “For us it’s the start of preparations for the World Cup and therefore we have to continue raising the bar.

“The World Cup is a couple of levels higher up than World Cup qualifying,” he added. “Everything we do now sets the tone for (the) summer of 2014 and therefore it’s important the players understand this is serious business.”

When Klinsmann took over he made it clear he would build a team around the experienced core of goalkeeper Tim Howard, defender Carlos Bocanegra, playmaker Landon Donovan and striker Clint Dempsey.

Today Howard remains first choice but is being pushed hard by former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan. A rejuvenated Donovan and dangerous Dempsey look more productive than ever. Only the 34-year-old Bocanegra has dropped out of the national team picture completely.

Injuries to key players like Stuart Holden and Michael Bradley — as well as Donovan’s lengthy hiatus — not only complicated matters but forced Klinsmann to look elsewhere as a matter of necessity.

The result was the unexpected blossoming of previously untapped talent, but that came largely from formerly under-appreciated U.S.-based players such as midfielder Graham Zusi and defender Matt Besler rather than the young unknown overseas prospects Klinsmann appeared to favor at the outset of his regime.

“Both … are really great examples of how you can break through to the highest level,” Klinsmann said. “Their story also inspires other players. They see that these two guys broke through fast into the national team and they are usually starters in the team.”

The qualifying trek was not without its bumps in the road, including a 2-1 loss to Jamaica and a punchless performance against tiny Antigua & Barbuda last year.

But qualifying out of CONCACAF is trickier than the quality of some opponents suggest, as struggling Mexico would attest.

A year out from the World Cup a still-building U.S. has the luxury of assessing its strengths and weaknesses without the national hand-wringing that sometimes accompanies such exercises.

The U.S. won’t win the World Cup next year as Klinsmann already has said, lest anyone get too carried away by the 13 wins in the last 14 games and the notoriously unreliable FIFA world rankings that today have the U.S. sitting in the 13th position.

Let us not forget just a year or so ago, around the time the U.S. was eking out results, it had fallen as low as 36th.

Still, this is a time to look forward, not back, as Brazil beckons and the U.S. begins its World Cup countdown.

Also …

When Galaxy substitute Laurent Courtois entered Sunday’s SuperClasico, he became the 11th player to appear for both clubs in the rivalry. For the names of the other 10, check out the 100 Percent Soccer blog. … Four Galaxy players are on international duty this week: Omar Gonzalez, Landon Donovan (U.S.), Robbie Keane (Ireland) and Jaime Penedo (Panama). … Ireland need a miracle to qualify, Keane conceded Sunday, while Penedo could add to Mexico’s misery Friday — the two nations are tied for fourth in the qualifying group — before playing Tuesday against the U.S. ,,, Those players likely will miss the Galaxy’s next game Oct. 16 against the Montreal Impact at StubHub Center. … Donovan provided the fun quote of the night Sunday in summing up the breakout game of Hawthorne rookie Gyasi Zardes, who sports a distinctive black and white mane: “He’s a confident kid to keep that hair all year.”

nick.green@dailybreeze.com @lasoccerblog on Twitter

For more local soccer news, read the 100 Percent Soccer blog at www.insidesocal.com/soccer.

Nick Green is the longtime soccer columnist for the Southern California Newspaper Group and covers Torrance, Lomita and the craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He also blogs about soccer at www.insidesocal.com/soccer, the local craft beer scene at www.insidesocal.com/beer and the South Bay at blogs.dailybreeze.com/southbay/. The native of England lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats.

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